Before The Darkness Falls
by nalusaurus
Summary: Mavis has gone back to visit Tenrou Island after the founding of the guild and bumps into Zeref again. OneShot.


Mavis had long since called Tenrou Island her home the day she met the strange boy by the name of Zeref in the woods. He had blessed her and her friends with the gift of magic and disappeared.

Mavis often recalled everything that happened to create her beloved guild 'Fairy Tail' and so she found herself visiting Tenrou Island quite often, unable to let go of who she was completely and the home she and her dear friend Zera once lived.

On this particular occasion, Mavis found herself drawn back to the small lake at which she first met the mysterious boy. She danced along the edge of the lakeside, careful not to fall in, her illusionary animals following behind her to keep her company. She seldom bought anyone else to such a sacred place.

She smiled as she looked across the water, blushing slightly when she remembered the compromising position she had found Zeref in when they had first met. She thought about the boy a lot, despite the fact that it made her very sad. His curse was cruel enough to bring tears to her eyes, she could not imagine having to live with such a destiny. He lived only to bring death and despair because his greatest crime was caring too much for humanity.

She smiled a sad smile, knowing that she could never really get close to the boy she considered to be so important to her. She kneeled down, looking at her reflection in the water, and sighed. How long would he have to live with that curse? How long would everything he loved be forced to turn to ash in front of his eyes?

She fell silently into the depths of her thoughts, only being roused from them when she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She stood up and snapped her head round to face the noise, her illusionary animals hissing towards it. Mavis put on a brave face, putting her hands in front of her and preparing to fight whoever had dared to step foot on her sacred ground without her permission.

Her scowl fell when her eyes rested upon the figure that emerged from the bushes. He kept his distance but on his lips was a genuine and loving smile. She had found him again. The mysterious, cursed black wizard Zeref.

Her illusionary animals ran to greet him. Mavis dropped her arms back to her side and relaxed her body. She smiled. It was a sad smile, she knew she would never to able to greet him the way her animals could. In a way she felt cursed too. She would give anything to throw herself into his warm embrace but knew she could only watch him from a distance.

"I see you have returned here again" he said to her softly, petting her illusionary animals.

"Yes" she said simply "It is a place I'm rather fond of" she smiled when she saw his own as he looked down at her animals.

"I am glad to hear that" he said "It's a place I am rather fond of too. The only place I felt I have belonged in, in a long time"

"Perhaps we can spend the day by the lake" Mavis suggested, wanting desperately to spend her days idling about with the boy.

"I would like that" he said, looking into her eyes "I wish that we did not have to be so far away" he said, regretfully. She felt a pang in her heart for both his sake and her own.

"Perhaps I can change that" she said. He eyed her curiously as she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened her eyes again, another version of herself had appeared and made its way over to Zeref's side. He smiled the first genuine smile she had seen for a long time as he looked longingly into the eyes of the Mavis by his side.

"I can see through her eyes and we can speak as one" Both Mavis' said

"But if it makes it easier, I can make only the illusion speak" said the Mavis by Zeref's side.

"This is quite wonderful" Zeref commented, touching the shoulder of the illusionary Mavis lightly, as to not push through it. "I have missed human contact" he admitted "I don't think I realised that until I met you" he said, invoking a smile on her face.

"Perhaps you could tell me about yourself" she said "You have learnt many things about me being on this island but I feel that I hardly know anything about you"

"I did not wish to make you sad" he said simply "I have seen so much darkness and I do not wish to burden you with it too"

"Perhaps, then, you should tell me only of the things that make you happy" she suggested, smiling at him. He seemed surprised by her reply but never the less seemed to approve.

"I suppose I could tell you of my brother" he said "He was young when he died. Much too young. I loved him with all my heart though. Though it may have been misguided when I look back at it now, I devoted myself at a very young age to give him the life he deserved. So I bought him back. My ultimate creation. I had created so much death and destruction. Creations to destroy and darken the light...but he was almost the light itself. Perhaps that is only just my dreaming, but I hope one day he can remove the darkness that has tainted my soul. To bring me my eternal summer…" Mavis smiled. She was torn between happiness and sadness.

"He sounds quite extraordinary" she commented "I hope one day that I can meet him"

"I hope that too" Zeref said, a sad tone to his voice "Two true beings of light...it would make such an amazing sight" he smiled at that idea, trying to dissipate the sadness. He wanted her to be happy. More than anything.

"Thank you, Mavis. There is no one in the world I would like to have shared this with more. It is an honour to have you listen to me" with such honest words she found herself forgetting the darkness that had made a home in his heart. "I think it is time for me to leave you again. I do not want to damage this place that we both hold so close to our hearts" he smiled, ready to move away.

"Before you go" she said, making his stop in his tracks. Her illusionary self grabbed his hand. He looked back to the real Mavis. "Perhaps you could tell me his name" she smiled, wondering if it would be the last time she would see this boy.

He returned her smile genuinely. "Natsu" he said softly and with that he left her, disappearing into the trees along with her illusions leaving her all alone.

"Natsu" she whispered to herself. The name filled her heart with such joy. The idea that someone maybe able to help him. To lift his curse and shine away the darkness that gripped him. _Perhaps one day,_ she thought to herself, _I will meet you, Natsu…_

With that she continued walking precariously along the water's edge with her arms out for balance.

 **Thanks for reading! This is my first story I decided to put online so I hope it's not too bad! Feel free to comment, ect. It would be nice to get some feed back before my next entries.**


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